Crusaders of Destiny
by o0ElLiOto0oRuTh0o
Summary: Mysterious death cases...Even stranger circumstances...Heart failures...Was it the 4th kira?...or was it something else?Warning: Beware of everything and anything. You have been warned! Disclaimer: We do not own death note or Kuroshitsuji! But we own COD!
1. Chapter 1

Author: Elliot and Ruth

Co-written with Robin Aries ( u/3292978/)

And Geeti Ara ( u/2872682/)

Elliot: Even though only Robin and I are working our asses off…-_-

...

Title: Crusaders of Destiny

Setting: Modern time/ London

Time: After Light regained his memories.

Genre: Adventure, mystery, action, etc

Summary:

Strange death cases…Even stranger circumstances…Heart failures?...Was it the work of a 4th Kira?...Maybe…Maybe not? But it's for certain that they bit more than they could chew.

A hyperactive detective, a narcissist with a god-complex, a short tempered Earl with one hell of a butler…it's just a recipe brewing for trouble…and a lot more.

Warning: Everything and Anything!Beware!

Rating may change in later chapters...(not because of _that_ you pervs)...because of violence, blood, gore,etc

* * *

**Chapter-1**

_Newcomer _

_Tick tock tick tock._

The only source of light in the darkened room was the moon's ethereal glow drifting in through the transparent glass of the wall-sized window.

The only things visible in the room were an armchair covered in crimson fabric and a small round mahogany table beside it, on which a bottle of wine along with a peculiar-looking quill was situated.

_Tick tock tick tock._

The armchair was occupied by a silhouette of a figure hidden by the shadows, who swirled and took a sip from the wine glass they held in their hand.

_Tick tock tick tock._

The figure sighed, casting their eyes heavenward, letting out a soft whisper:

"It's time."

_Dong._

XxXxX

"Ku ku ku."

"…make sure that…"

"Ku ku ku."

"….and the victim's posture should imply that…"

"Ku ku ku."

"Seriously, put a sock in it, Ryuuk! I can hardly hear anything, being so far away from the crime scene as it is, your theatrics aren't really helping," Light whisper-yelled, his patience snapped again for what seemed like the hundred and fifth time that day.

After counting down from 10 to 1 and taking a few deep breaths, Light focused on the crime scene again where everything was progressing same as it had been for the past hour, except now L was attempting haul himself over the window-ledge to solve his confusion- whether it was humanly possible to cross the gap between the two adjacent hotels.

Matsuda was nervously trying to convince L that it was not a good idea while simultaneously chattering about random stuff, ranging from Misa Misa to what he ate for breakfast.

His dad, Soichiro Yagami, was taking a closer inspection of the victim's body in case they hadn't noticed something vital. And the rest of the Kira Investigation team, namely Aizawa and Mogi, were busy inspecting the room, gathering any form of evidence they could find.

Light's gaze shifted from the unusual crowd of 'World's best'- a collection of middle-aged adults whose mental conditions were far too complex for any sane person, to observe the dead body, which was sprawled a few steps away from the window (that L was still attempting to climb on).

With smooth, confident steps, Light swerved near to the barricade of "POLICE-CRIME SCENE-DO NOT ENTER"- tapes with a nonchalant face, while trying to hide himself from well placed computer in the entrance of the bedroom, which got a good view of both the living room and the bed room. On the other side of the black screen with the letter E, was Watari, posing as Eraldo Coil.

Light tried to absorb all the details. The old white-haired man, Professor Albus Chester, was dressed in his pajamas, he had a freaked out expression on his face, his veins visible on his wrinkled skin, his one hand laid limply on his side while the other clutched the receiver of the intercom.

Albus' death could have easily been chalked off as just another 'sad case of heart-failure', if it weren't for the bruised nose and a thin trail of blood coming out.

Light inwardly groaned, squinting to take in more of the details. Thank god he had a sharp eyesight, and superior intellect, so that he could observe above the average bystander. Now if only his humor-stuck, high-on-apple, forever stalking whimsical of a companion would stop his incessant 'ku-ku-ku'-s, then maybe Light would be able to hear something useful as well.

As he continued his observations, his mind drifted to the earlier events that lead to all this:

**-/ **_It was an ordinary day in the headquarters of the Kira Investigation team (well as normal as it could get with a sugar-obsessed freak and a bunch of people trying to put a stop to a murderer), the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, Ayasegawa was putting on his pants and complaining about the exaggerated security of the place. L was in the middle of a heated, though one-sided, argument with Light about the topic of 'Having your cake and eating it'._

_But then Watari barged in with a phone and whispered something in L's ears, something that caused L's eyes to widen and immediately grab the phone from Watari's hand._

"_Yes, yes this is E speaking…," and then he began talking with a certain familiarity. The recipients on the other side must have said something that caused L's eyes to narrow. After 5 minutes of letting out a few 'Yes'-s, 'No'-s and 'I understands'-s, L finally ended the call after saying, "Send me the information. I'll see what I can do about it."_

_L immediately went to his computer and viewed some 'confidential'-labeled files, before rotating his chair to face the other occupants of the room._

"_Gentlemen," he started, "It would seem that we have another case in our hands."_

_At the looks of confusion that were directed at him he elaborated._

"_In London, some while back, several people, who weren't criminals, had started to die of, what the doctors concluded as, heart failures, even though they had not shown any previous symptoms. Given the Kira case, they were wary but they didn't want to make any assumptions._

_And after a while, those deaths had stopped, so they were just chalked up as normal heart failures. But however those deaths had started again. I assume this could be a 4th Kira," here L turned to Light, who was wearing a shocked expression, and asked him pointedly, "What are your thoughts on this, Light-kun?"_

_Light blinked. A chin of thousands of thoughts flooded in his head. If what L said was true then there was a high possibility that there was a 4th Kira. And this person was either a potential friend or foe. If he was a friend, then Light could possibly manipulate him into helping him get rid of L. But there was also the fact they could be a liability or a dangerous foe. In which case, Light would have to do something about it. And even if the case was fraud, L would have to lower his guards against Light, which Light could use as his advantage._

_Unbeknownst to Light, who was focused hard on his thoughts, L was observing him with a peculiar expression on his face. When he finally noticed it, he blinked again before gathering his wits and replying smoothly, "There is a chance that this is the job of a fourth Kira. But from what you said, it could be just normal heart failures. But it is, in my opinion, something that should be looked into."_

_There was a flicker of an unrecognized situation in L's eyes before he replied, "My thoughts exactly Light-kun. So that is why I have accepted the case as Eraldo Coil." _**/-**

Light jerked out of his train of thoughts, cursing himself inwardly for letting his thoughts get carried away.

Light scoffed- to think that all his plans would go down the drain just because of L's suspicion on him, and he had no option but to stay content that he was at least allowed near the crime scenes, staying in the sidelines with Ryuuk's infuriating chuckles.

"Ku ku ku."

The sound was grating on his nerves, and the desire to punch Ryuuk in the face was getting more and more appealing by the second, but thanks to his self control Ryuuk's face was dent less, that and the fact that the others were unaware of the Shinigami's presence.

Fighting hard to keep his cool, Light managed to spitefully say out of the corner of his mouth, "What on earth do you find so hilarious, Ryuuk?"

"Ku ku ku…I didn't know…ku ku ku…that there were still…ku ku ku….such creatures…ku ku ku…," was all Light managed to figure out from Ryuuk, who was clutching the region of his anatomy, where the stomach is situated in a normal human.

Deciding to let the cracked-in-the-head creature continue with his hysterics, Light spun around to face the direction at which Ryuuk had been looking at previously, only to have his eyes land on a boy, who could be no older than 15-16, dressed in elegant blue clothing, the very aura of British aristocracy emanating from his presence. he was dark-haired and there was a black eye patch hiding one of his eyes. And on his thumb there was a grand expensive looking blue stone-embedded ring. His sharp deep blue eyes observing Light in a similar way L observes anything new.

He was followed by young gentleman; with devil-black hair and piercing red eyes, dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing white gloves- his attire suggesting his position was as some sort of attendant to the boy.

The man stepped forward, indicating to the boy, he said, "This is my master. Lord Ciel Phantomhive."

XxXxX

The auburn-haired woman frowned at the announcement from the police- that it was going to take a few more hours until the reporters would be allowed in to the crime scene. She raised her hand to look at the time on her watch before turning around to face the photographer accompanying her.

"Damn! Did you hear that, Mark? Another hour! The editor-in-chief is going to bite our heads off," she huffed, and got a defeated look in return. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a soft tap on her shoulder

Spinning around swiftly on her heels, she gazed down at a little black-haired girl who looked to be no older than a high-school girl and sent her a scrutinizing glance.

The girl tilted her head and scanned the auburn-haired woman's coat for a name tag, mouthed, "Christine Weiss," blinking at the uncommon surname before beaming brightly. She clasped her hands together and leaned forward, her green eyes bright with a warped delight, before saying in a cutesy voice, "Would you like to go in nya?"

* * *

Coming up!

Next chapter: L Vs Ciel

…

Sebastian, with his trademark smirk and eyes glinting with pleasure, took advantage of the distraction, acting on impulse at the obvious command, and gracefully snatched the now panting Earl away from the reporter's clutches.

Blinking in confusion, Christine looked down at her now empty arms and then at Ciel, who was held protectively by Sebastian. It took her a few seconds to comprehend the situation before a look of understanding and maliciousness dawned on her face.

"Oh! Possessive, are we?" she said languidly and letting out a whistle.

Sebastian smirked, his eyes dancing with incomprehensible knowledge, while the boy in his arms blushed darker, doing a good imitation of a tomato, and yelled obscenities and denials.

_..._

Elliot: I finally posted it!

Robin: Yay! You finally posted it!

Both: Review!...

…

*depressed*

No ones gonna review…Q_Q


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter-2**

_The watch dog and the free dog_

The clicking sound of heels, accompanied by the soft thuds of sneakers, echoed through the hallway until they reached the police barricade surrounding the business suite. A figure clad in a cream –suit raised a hand in gesture as if she was adjusting a pair of invisible glasses, before continuing onwards.

XxXxX

The young man stepped forward, his eyes flickering to something behind Light which Light chalked up as interest to the crime scene, before indicating to the boy, he said, "This is my master. Lord Ciel Phantomhive."

Ryuuk laughed again causing life to half-turn and glare at him.

The man then did an odd motion, putting his finger in front of his lips in a 'silent' gesture before letting it fall effortlessly by his side, which was noticed by Ciel and L, who unnoticed by all, had reached the barricade of 'DO NOT ENTER'-tapes.

'_Wait, what's that?' _Light thought to himself, the words that the butler spoke finally registering in his head,_ 'Did he just say Phantomhive? __**The Phantomhive**__- meaning that this kid over here is possibly heir to one of the world's most infamous empires-the Funtom Company? The family who is also one of the queens most trusted nobles. Why would the heir be here? And why would anyone allow kids, no matter the status, enter a crime scene? Well, unless he has something to do with the case. I'd better play along.'_

"The name is Light Yagami. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Mr. Phantomhive," Light prompted in perfect English, as he held his hand forward to shake hands with the young boy. But Ciel ignored the offered hand, making Light flush red, and sharply said.

"Y-Yagami is it?" stuttering a little over the foreign name he continued, "You are Japanese aren't you? So Mr. Yagami, what is it that brings you to and your friends into a police only restricted crime scene and moreover, fiddle with confidential police evidence."

Inwardly cringing at the mention of the word friends, Light opened his mouth to say something, while trying to keep a leash on his anger, it wouldn't do for him to make enemy out of the Phantomhives, but was cut off by someone else barging into the conversation.

"Light-kun, you wouldn't happen to stumble across anything of importance while scouting the area, trying to catch air of our conversation, now, would you?" L said as he dragged himself out of the police barricade.

"What are you…," Light started growling but was cut off again mid-sentence by L.

"No, I suppose not," L said, "But, of course you would have surely noticed something if you were really interested in helping us…rather than talk to some outsiders."

Totally ignoring the multiple twitching veins on Light's forehead, L turned to Ciel, who was eying him with distaste at the horrible posture and dress sense, and spoke to him as if he was talking to a five year old, "Hey, this isn't a place for kids to play around in. So leave and let us grown-ups do our work, 'kay?"

The young man, noticing his master's cheek grow an unusual shade of red at being called and treated like a kid, decided to intervene before Ciel had the time to explode, "I present to you Earl Ciel Phantomhive, Head of the Phantomhive empire and the Funtom companies, here on a mission especially assigned by her Majesty, the Queen herself. As such, in order for him to successfully accomplish the task given to him, my master would be absolutely delighted if you and your companions were to take all your belongings and depart."

L quirked an eyebrow, a little annoyed by the man's flowery talk, and asked, "And who might you be?"

"Me? I go by the name Sebastian Michaelis and I'm but a butler to the core," he replied, flashing his trademark smirk, and continued, "Having said that, would you, sir, be kind enough to enlighten our knowledge with your identity, if you please?"

"You can call me Ryuzaki and I'm currently working under orders of Eraldo Coil under FBI's insistence," L answered in a matter of fact voice, waving his hand at the laptop with the capital letter 'E' blinking on its monitor, and resumed, "So the old hag appointed you to clean up this mess"-Here he gestured towards the crime scene, "Am I right?"

Ciel flushed, wincing at the man's disrespectful way of addressing the Queen, and exploded, letting his anger get the best of him, "Yes, I have been appointed by the Queen to 'clean up this mess' as you so eloquently put it," he turned to face the direction of the laptop and said, "Therefore, I relieve you from your meticulous _grownup_ job, so that you may now leave."

"That, I'm afraid, can't be done," came the electronically muffled voice from the laptop, "You see, now that I've taken this case, there is no way I can leave it midway. You can say it's something like how you can't leave a addictive game until you have completed it."

"So, Ciel-chan, we can't leave this case until we solve it. Or else we won't be satisfied," L continued. Ciel narrowed his eyes.

"A game, you say? That you will not rest until you have seen the end of? Then I too swear, under the pride of the Phantomhives, to beat you in this 'game' by solving this mystery, by any means possible, before you."

"Master," Sebastian interrupted, "Are you quite sure about this…"

"Be quiet Sebastian. Do you think I'll let them get away having insulted the Phantomhive pride and the Queens name?" Ciel snapped, before turning to the Kira investigation team, who had by now entered the scene, and cast a significant look at L and the laptop, "Do you accept?"

With a contemplative look on his face, L muttered, "This sounds like fun,"-This caused Ciel eyes to twitch-, "But it's up to Coil, though I don't think he will disagree." L looked inquiringly at the computer, causing all eyes to turn at it too.

"I, of course, have no objection. Let's see who wins, Mr. Phantomhive," came from the computer.

L, with a cocky smile, declares, "Well, that's settled then. Though it does feel a little odd accepting a challenge from a little kid such as yourself. This game will be unfairly _outsized_."

A chibi aristocratic vein twitched as the height obsessed young Earl glowered at the insufferable man. Dark, fierce aura emanated from the two black haired prodigies, sparks were flying everywhere as the two stared fiercely at each other, one with a conceited look while the other was brimming with anger. Suffice to say it was a good thing that it was not an anime, like Dragon Ball Z, or else everything within a 100 meters radius would have literally gone flying.

The only thought passing through Light's head was, '_This was going to be interesting.'_

Soichiro Yagami, deeming himself as the only right-minded grownup (who cares) present, decided to break up the duo, who were now viciously barking at each other. No sooner that he stepped forward to do so, his attention, as well as everyone else's, was caught by the arrival of a new female voice.

Zeroing down to the source of the voice, they found themselves looking at a team of two, who had just entered through the door: on the lead was a auburn haired beauty, who looked to be in her mid twenties, dressed in a formal classic-cut cream-coloured suit, a reporter's id hanging from her collar; Behind her was a middle-aged blond man donned in a khaki-coloured jacket over casual jeans and tee-shirt, an unruly beard covering half of his experienced looking face, and the other half hidden behind the professional camera he had in his hands, which was currently snapping away pictures of the scene.

Similar thoughts rang in every ones head: How did they enter? The guards were specifically ordered not to let anyone in, unless ordered otherwise.

Before anyone could say anything or voice out their thoughts, the reporter stepped forward. However she stopped and stiffened after taking a couple of steps, an odd look flickering across her face, her eyes darting around before they landed on her audience. She then introduced herself in a composed well-practiced manner:

"Christine Weiss, crime reporter, London times, accompanied by Mark Schrooge. Here assigned to report on the death of Professor Albus Chester…"

From behind Light, Ryuuk flew forward, with a curious expression, to take a closer look at the reporter.

The reporter suddenly halted in the middles of her speech, her eyes darting around again…the clock ticked…a pair of aqua blue eyes feel upon the chibi…a cricket chirped…those eyes widened…the birds tweeted…a high-pitched squeal echoed throughout the off-limits business suit.

"Aww, you are so CUTE!"

One second, Ciel was frowning at the sight of the unwelcome intrusion, the very next second he was blushing profusely into different shades of pink-red-purple-blue-green and gasping for breath-because the woman had engulfed him in a suffocating hug with inhuman strength and occasionally pecking him with kisses on his cheeks ad forehead. Ciel tried to fight back but it bore no fruit.

"Aww you really are very cute and cuddly too. My brother was never this much cuddly or adorable or cute or huggable. You are cuter than your creepy brother over there"-Here she indicated towards L, causing L to lift a brow and Sebastian to narrow his eyes-"I could do this all day," Christina blabbered. He tried to coherently call his butler, to command him to help him, as he didn't seem to want to do that without force, but all he managed was, "Seb…"

Ryuuk chuckled again, but Light was too busy gaping at the scene to pay him any mind.

Christine stiffened again, loosening her grip on Ciel, and Sebastian, with his trademark smirk and eyes glinting with pleasure, took advantage of the distraction, acting on impulse at the obvious command, and gracefully snatched the now panting Earl away from the reporter's clutches.

Blinking in confusion, Christine looked down at her now empty arms and then at Ciel, who was held protectively by Sebastian. It took her a few seconds to comprehend the situation before a look of understanding and maliciousness dawned on her face.

"Oh! Possessive, are we?" she said languidly and letting out a whistle.

Sebastian smirked, his eyes dancing with incomprehensible knowledge, while the boy in his arms blushed darker, doing a good imitation of a tomato, and yelled obscenities and denials.

Soichiro, seeing that he was the only sane enough adult present at such critical time, briskly stepped forward and intruded on the conversation in fluent English earned from years of experience, and introduced himself with his alias, "Blake Kijani, investigator under Eraldo Coil," at this he nodded towards the laptop before looking at Ciel who just shook his head, then continued, "How may we be help to you?"

Promptly slipping back to her professional mode, she pressed the record button on her mini-recorder and resumed:

"I would like to make a few inquiries about the case." L shifted but did nothing else, opting to observe the peculiar woman.

"Please go ahead," Soichiro said.

"Is it true that Albus Chester, Professor at London University, was murdered in his bedroom?"

"Yes, that is true. We have verified the victim's identity; there is no doubt about him being the genuine professor."

"When, according to the police, did his death occur?"

"It is our primary assumption that he died sometime around mid-night, last night, although we are yet awaiting the forensic report to narrow down the actual time of death."

"There has been _a few_ death cases due to heart failures, which the police assured the general public was not the work of Kira. However, there is a rumor, about the Professor's death being a murder instead of a case of heart-failure. What do you have to say on that?"

"The rumors are correct-There are obvious signs of violence and struggle evident in the room but no fatal wounds on the body. It is our assumption that the victim was poisoned, but we are waiting for the forensic on that note."

"Do you have any possible leads on the criminal who killed the Professor?"

"So far it is unclear as to who would want to kill the professor. We have our man on the road and we are searching for plausible clues ourselves which would indicate to the possible suspect(s)."

"If I may ask your opinion on the matter: About the death cases that has been said to be 'heart-failures'. Is it really true that it is not the work of Kira?"

"Well it has been said that they are not. But-" before Soichiro could say anything else L cut in.

"I think that is enough. You have enough information that you need," L drawled out.

"Why? Is revealing too much information going to reveal the police's incompetence?" Christine countered. Before L could say anything scathing, Soichiro cut in.

"The cases of 'heart-failures' don't seem to be related to Kira." Christina then turned towards the laptop, and asked, "If I might be as bold to ask, what about this case, which can be said to be a normal murder case, attracted the interest of one of the world's three greatest detectives?"

"At first when I heard about this case, I must admit I thought it might have something related to Kira, however it doesn't really seem that way. But now that I have accepted this case, I shall not rest until the criminal has been caught and safely beyond the bars," said an electronically-altered voice.

"Would you like to offer any other opinion?"

"There isn't much to say other than what has already been said," came from the computer, "We are trying our best to catch the criminals. And hopefully we shall succeed soon."

"Alright, that would do for now. Thank you for your time," Christine said. She walked up to L and handed him a card, "If you have anything else to add, please contact us." She then turned to Ciel and raised her hand in a 'call me' gesture with a suggestive waggle of her brows causing the Earl, who had regained a normal skin colour, to blush again. She then jauntily left the room, with the cameraman right behind her still snapping away pictures.

"Well, that was interesting," L commented after a few moments of silence.

XxXxX

After a few moments Christine was seen stepping out of the hotel, with her companion still swiftly behind her. As she entered the alleyway, a few paces away from the hotel which was partially hidden from view, her entire posture changed and she hummed a happy tune under her breath. She walked deeper into the alley only to come face-to-face with a mirror image of herself.

She nodded to her mirror-image, smiling profusely, and did a hand gesture as if adjusting a pair of invisible glasses. Her mirror-image and the companion stilled for a moment before leaving the alley.

She waited for sometime before making move to get out of the alley. As she moved forward her long strides turned to fast paced springy ones, her smiling countenance turned into a full grown grin and when she exited the alley she pushed a real pair of glasses up her nose.

She then neared a grey Chevrolet and opened the door to enter the car.

A black haired girl with bright green eyes, which were currently alighted with delight, entered the car and relaxed into the soft leathered seat, motion for the man behind the wheel to drive. When she heard a few whispered words, she let out a smirk.

"They didn't suspect a thing."

* * *

Next chapter:

"L, I could understand. But Watari, you, of all people, I would have thought you would have more sense then accept a challenge issued by the Phantomhives," Soichiro said in exasperation.

L shot him an insulted look, "Hey I'm right here you know."

"Yes. But you are forgetting that Eraldo Coil is not Watari. If it were me, I wouldn't have been so brash as to do that. But this is L we are talking about. I've known him long enough to know that, if I didn't do that, he would never forgive me," Watari smiled.

…

Elliot: I can't believe _that girl_ flirted with Ciel.

Robin: Really?

Elliot: Makes _her_ a pedophile.

Robin: It does!...Wait I thought COD was going to be shounen-ai. *pouts*

Elliot: I wish.

Both: Review~! :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter-3**

_The Phantomhives_

A sleek black limo entered the broad driveway, decorated on both sides with bushes and shrubs, its windows gleaming in the sunlight, moving steadily, until it came to a stop in front of an intricate aged mansion. A young man, dressed all in black, stepped out of the car and held open the door to the passengers' seat. A sophisticated adolescent stepped out of the car and marched forward in a brisk manner, his head held high and his eyes narrowed, irritation and indignation present in his face, his servant in black not far behind, amusement and exasperation were swirling in those red depths.

Sebastian watched as his master walked off in a huff, just like a cat. The huge oaken doors of the manner swung open and Ciel Phantomhive entered into the hall. Sebastian hurriedly checked the mail, taking the letters that were there, before quickly following behind his master. His three servants bowed and stuttered out a 'Welcome home, Master', while Tanaka was drinking tea in his chibi form and letting out 'ho ho ho's.

They avoided his eyes and shifted guiltily and the distinct smell of burnt charcoal hit Sebastian's nose, no doubt Bard had blown up the kitchen with a weapon from his arsenal. But he ignored it for now; he would have to fix those three idiot's mess later.

He dismissed the servants and followed his master out of the hall, up a flight of stairs and into his master's study.

Ciel entered his study with a heavily set scowl and sat down in his chair. He watched as Sebastian entered into his study with tea and sweets, god knows from where.

"That aroma…is it Ceylon tea today?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, and we'll be using the Royal Doulton dishes. And preparations have been made with the Wedgewood Blue-White tea set. And for snacks I have prepared a chocolate cake. Side dishes of scones and campagne have been baked. Which one would you like?" Sebastian said smoothly.

"The scones," was the curt reply. Ciel dug into his food, with poise and proper manner, as soon as Sebastian served him. He finished his meal and Sebastian took the dishes away. With nothing to distract him from his thoughts, the events of earlier that day flashed through Ciel's mind, making him grit his teeth in annoyance. To distract himself from his thoughts, one that included strangling a certain dark-haired, over-grown panda freak of a man and that blasted laptop, he watched as Sebastian, who arrived again, sort through his mail.

"Well master, there are the usual letters regarding your work. And this one is from Lady Elizabeth," Sebastian said, as he held up a pink letter. Ciel made a dismissing motion with his hand before gesturing for Sebastian to continue, "Here is an official invitation to the coming of age party of Lord Elijah Draconion of the Draconion family."

"Whatever, I'm not going," Ciel drawled.

"Are you sure, master? You do have important business transaction with him. It would be good to make an impression and what better way than at the party? Besides her majesty, the Queen herself is going to be present at such an event" Sebastian said, smiling in a forced manner.

"Doesn't matter. And those business transactions are much as important to his company as mine. They are not in jeopardy. Besides her Majesty won't miss me much," Ciel said and Sebastian sighed, before bringing up another envelope, this one white, with the royal mark on it.

"And you also have received a letter from the Queen," Sebastian said and Ciel motioned for him to read. Sebastian broke the wax seal and brought out the letter and started to read.

"_My dear boy_," Sebastian started and Ciel scowled at the way the Queen addressed him, "_How are you? I really don't see you at all. But I suppose handling your business is rather time consuming. I hope that the latest mission that has been assigned to you won't be much of a problem. And I had forgotten to mention that the great detective, Eraldo Coil, has also been assigned for this job by the Scotland Yard and I have agreed. As they say the more the merrier. I hope the two of you will be abler to work hand in hand._ That's all master."

Ciel scowled and mumbled something inaudible under his breath.

"Sebastian, I want you to find anything and everything that you can on this case," Ciel ordered. Sebastian bowed, his eyes flashing, giving his trademark smirk.

"Of course, Master."

XxXxX

In his many of years of experience as the Head of the Japanese Police Department and working on many cases, there have been very few things that which have rendered Soichiro Yagami completely speechless. Today was one of those days.

Out of years of practice and hard earned patience, Soichiro managed to keep his outward display of emotions under control until they were inside the hotel suite which was now being used as temporary headquarters, a few blocks away from the crime scene. But his subordinates were not all that gifted in keeping composures- thus all the wide-eyes, sharp gasps, and jaw-drops.

So, one would imagine the level of surprise (or perhaps not) Watari felt at his arrival in the room on finding himself under fierce inquiring gaze of all his subordinates; all but L, who was busy shooing Light off after yet another bantering about the possibility of "Light-kun is Kira".

Soichiro stalked up to Watari and merely asked "Why?" earning a raised eyebrow from the British agent.

"L, I could understand. But Watari, you of all people, I would have thought you had more sense than to accept a challenge issued by the Phantomhives," Soichiro said in exasperation.

L, who had successfully got rid of Light, shot him an insulted look, "Hey, I'm right here, you know," but it was ignored by the duo, causing L to sulk (not that he would ever admit that).

"Yes, but you are forgetting that Eraldo Coil is not Watari. If it were me, I wouldn't have been so brash as to do that. But this is L we are talking about. I have known him long enough to know that, if I didn't do what I did, he would never forgive me," Watari smiled, earning a sigh from the former head.

"Well if you are done chit-chatting, I suggest you all return to work," L said icily, "After all the case isn't going to solve itself."

XxXxX

Briskly stepping into the personal hotel-suite he'd been given, Light silently locked the door behind him.

"Nice game you're playing at Ryuzaki," he muttered under his breath, before shuffling over to the swivel-chair positioned in front of his laptop. He made use of his hacking expertise to gain access to the Investigation team's database and clicked at a few 'Confidential' marked documents. He viewed them with an adept glance before sighing contentedly and turned away, he had gotten the information he wanted.

Light mulled over the information in his head and the recent events. He had just cleared his doubts regarding the identity and the social upstanding of the Phantomhives. The Phantomhives functioned as the as the Queen's left hand men, her most trusted and loyal and were ready to serve, thus gaining them the reputed name of the Queen's guard dog. On the front they were a owners of the Funtom company and a noble family, but behind that façade they, along with a few others, dealt with the underground and effortlessly finishes the 'dirty work' given to them by the Queen, that would overtly embarrass her.

And most shocking of all was the fact that the child who had appeared along with his butler was not an heir but Lord Phantomhive. Well he wasn't publicly announced as the Head and won't be until nineteen years of age, when all heirs of noble families come of age and, if need be, claim the title of the Head.

It was then Light remembered one little detail, that he didn't pay any heed to earlier; the rather grand ring on the boy's hand. It was no doubt the Phantomhive Lord ring, which only Lord Phantomhive wears.

But sending a child to solve the case? A case that stirred up the entire nation and beyond, that even the FBI and Interpol have trouble solving and were forced to seek the help from one of the world's best detectives. So that made Light come to the conclusion that this child, no matter how unbelievable, **was** the best man under the Queen's authority to be asked to solve the case.

And if his conclusion is true, Light came across a window of opportunities, which ensued as a result of the childish challenge of the two proud and conceited males. To L, it was just another game perhaps, albeit a dangerous one, in which one wrong step would result in disaster. To Ciel, it was a job, a responsibility handed down to him, which he would fulfill no matter what the cost.

But above all- the intensity of the determination both black-haired prodigies radiated more than emphasized on one fact- that although this so called 'game' or 'challenge' was nothing more than a gamble, in which their lives and the lives of many others' were at stake, and not to mention their pride and name, neither would step down until they achieved victory.

Now all Light had left to do was to watch from the sidelines as they both fought all out. It was just a matter of time until either of the two blood-thirsty bloodhounds sniffed out the person(s) responsible for the murders. And when they did succeed in finding out the culprit that would be the perfect time for Light to strike- he would deftly maneuver the situation to his advantage- taking the new Kira(s) under his wing and manipulating them to strike down those on his way, without getting dirt on his own hands.

"Striking two birds with one stone," he smirked to himself, his eyes gleaming at the thought of his seemingly flawless and well-devised, full-proof plan.

The only thing left for him to do was to find himself a replacement Kira. Yes, currently, the job of Kira was being performed by his most devoted follower and self-proclaimed girlfriend- Misa Amane. But it was dangerous, as he'd already experienced she could easily be compromised. He could manipulate her Shinigami to do the job, but Rem was currently under the custody of the Kira Investigation Team, along with the death note retrieved from Higuchi, the third Kira.

No, he couldn't risk suspicion on him again, or Misa (because of her Shinigami eyes and her unconditional blind devotion for him), and since they were currently posing as a couple, courtesy of Misa and Rem, meant that even the slightest bit of falter in their plans could land them on the other side of the gun and he wasn't in a hurry to repeat that experience again, thank you very much.

He had to hurry and find a replacement but because of the constant watch of the Kira Investigation team on him, it was difficult for him to move about, so contacting a suitable candidate for the new Kira would prove quite the challenge.

But maybe he could manipulate Ryuuk into doing the work for him, after all there's nothing Ryuuk wouldn't do for a basket of perfectly ripe, juicy apples.

"So Ryuuk, how does a few crunchy apples sound to you?" he asked to his apple-loving companion, while getting up and stretching.

Gaining no response from the male, Light blinked before scanning the confines of his room, finding it deserted but himself, "Huh, must have slipped off while I was assessing the situation," was his initial response but then he remembered Ryuuk's behavior from earlier that day at the crime scene. It was strange, well stranger than Ryuuk's usual behavior, and what had Ryuuk meant when he said that he didn't think such creatures still existed?

Light was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone creep up on him until it was too late.

"Light honey!" echoed a shrill voice just right behind him. Light immediately braced himself for the impact that was sure to come in 3…2…1…GLOMP!

And sure enough, Light found himself pinned to the chair to the chair by an excited blond idol. Light shook himself out of his daze as Misa was rambling about how her day went, how much she missed Light and that the hotel food needed to use less spice.

Light cleared his throat and spoke in a controlled and fake sweet voice, "Yes, Misa, is there anything you need?"

She looked up from where nuzzling against him and squealed, "Light, we need to go shopping!" causing a groan from the usually cool, calculating genius.

* * *

Next Chapter:

"Light don't you think this suits me a lot better than that ugly bitch?" Misa cried out.

Cringing a little, light followed the source of the voice to the dimly lit corner of the shop only to find himself gaping at the scene. Misa and another busty blond were tugging at a piece of scant undergarment with ferocity that rivaled a saber toothed tiger, causing Light to blush embarrassedly and mutter a hasty, "Eh? Yeah, anything."

…

Robin: *grins maliciously at Light*

Elliot: *brings a bucket of popcorn, grinning even more maliciously*

Light: *sweat drops*

Geeti: *Sighs and inwardly pats Light on the head as consolation* Poor him…Oh well. Hey Elliot, get a pitcher of coke and a pizza for us too. \m/ hehe so fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter-4**

_Shopping and Coffee_

If Light was a lesser man, instead of residing in his mental-self, he would have been pulling his hair out in frustration already and by now his scalp would have been robbed of all his brown strands of perfectly conditioned hair. But no, he was Light Yagami, a genius, a mastermind, soon to be the god of the new world that he would create with his own two hands, he had a reputation to maintain which would no doubt be sullied if he were to perform such a insensible unreasonable mode of action (that and he rather liked his hair).

But despite his noteworthy and impressive self restraint and analytical abilities, he was now forced to doubt his sanity: for what man in their right mind would agree to the inhumane sadistic torture which was known as shopping in Misa's vocabulary?

He took a quick glance at his watch and inwardly let out a string of curses which would cause a sailor to blush like a little girl viewing her crush and perhaps even L. it has been a long time since Light felt like it losing it, forgo his calm demeanor, with his hands crossed across his chest, brows furrowed and letting out occasional grumble under his breath.

He had spent the first few hours of his time analyzing and assessing his past, present and future, the possibilities that came with the new case that L had taken, scheming what advantage he could take with the challenge between L and the Phantomhives, soul searching about the deep hidden meaning behind the existence of man and the ways of the world. The next few hours he had spent in carefully his smooth, silky brown hair with keen precision for any unwanted and relatively non-existent split-ends.

But after a while that had lost its charm and failed to keep his sanity intact. He'd then reprimanded himself to cool down and take deep breaths, to increase the oxygen supply in his blood, to rid his perfect body of any imperfections such as early wrinkling due to stress he was now experiencing. Over-exertion and losing temper could easily result in him gaining dark-circles as deep as L's or bald patches as evident as Soichirou and Watari's, those thoughts almost makes him shudder.

But now, as he felt his patience slip for the infinite time that day, he was finding it highly tempting to slip the tiny piece of death note from his watch and write two small words which would lift the Herculean burdens off his shoulders and arms and in a mere 40 seconds would free him from this unbearable torture at hand: Misa Amane.

But the only thing that stopped him from carrying out the heavenly act and killing of the teen idol because his rational side kicked in, and just in time too because Light had managed to grasp the dial of his prized watch (after about 15 or so minutes of struggling…because of the insanely large amount of shopping bags that he had to carry, all around is arms, weighing him down and not to mention the fact that he was being swatted around the pavements of the shopping districts like a ping-pong ball by the rushing mass passerby's played a very important factor in his slow approach), and he was reminded the fact that if he killed Misa then it would put him in a spot of bother with L, that is if Rem didn't finish him off first. And also he'd lose Misa's eyes which Light treasured.

Light heaved a deep sigh and then suddenly a very bubbly, very excited Misa bounded out of the shop which she had previously been hogging for god-knows-how-many-hours, and before he knew it grabbed Light's not-so-free hand and without sparing a second's breath, wrestled him into the heavily packed shop.

5 painfully sufferable minutes later…

He was Kira, damn it! The one man whom the entire world knew of and feared as well as respected, the man whose very name could cause a criminal to piss his pants and make him go cowering to his mommy, the one man with enough power and intellect to fool the best of detectives, the one man who would very soon rid the world of all crimes and create a utopia…not some lovesick puppy of a boyfriend!

And yet here he was standing, struggling to keep the growing heat in his already crimson cheeks under control while simultaneously wishing to hide in a little hole so that he could hide his shame…for how could he, Light Yagami, top student, top 'Most Desirable Man' of his school and university, bear the shame of being spotted in a shady women-only undergarment outfitters?

Light couldn't find a single man other than himself in the shop. The only consolation Light had was the fact that he was far away from home and in a less risk to be seen by anyone familiar otherwise his spotless reputation would be in tatters.

"Light-honey!" a shrill voice that no doubt belonged to Misa shrieked out from an overgrown pile of unmentionables, "Don't you think this suits me a lot better than that ugly bitch?"

Cringing a little, Light followed the source of the voice to the dimly lit corner of the shop only to find himself gaping at the scene. Misa and another busty blond were tugging at a piece of scant undergarment with ferocity that rivaled a saber toothed tiger, causing Light to blush embarrassedly and mutter a hasty, "Eh? Yeah, anything."

XxXxX

There was a kind of an awkward atmosphere in the booth of a corner café which was lost to Misa as kept on her incensed chattering.

Light sighed, Misa's high-pitched voice going on and on about irrelevant matters were grating on his nerves, before observing Misa's new _friend_ who introduced herself as Hiromi. Hiromi was around their age, she was dressed in a chequered purple unisex shirt and fitting black jeans, her shoulder-length midnight-black hair cascaded over her back and she held herself with elegant grace though with an aura of tom-boyishness. Her cheeks had by now regained their original slight sun-kissed Asian hue.

Light was internally grateful to her because earlier on when Hiromi (sporting a blush a deeper shade of crimson than Light's) had staggered up to the counter of the aforementioned lingerie store to return a piece of undergarment which had accidentally been added to her purchase, and, coincidentally, it was the exact replica of the piece Misa and the other blond had been brawling over.

Misa had therefore wanted to thank her new _friend,_ Hiromi, for solving her shopping problem and thus, surprise of all surprises, bringing an end to Misa's shopping expedition, and invited her out to coffee. The poor girl didn't even get the chance to answer properly before being promptly dragged by Misa.

Light took a generous sip of the foamy crimson liquid and closed his eyes; relishing the bitter-sweet taste of mocha-coffee. It had been a rough day for him and he attempted to relax and let the slow jazz music drifting in the air of the café his frayed genius nerve-ends a bit…if only Misa would shut up!

"…Light is such a darling!" Misa giggled over her cup of diet black coffee, "Light and Misa Misa's relationship is _very_ unique, almost like the ones in the movies! It was love at first sight- Misa Misa knew that Light was Misa Misa's prince charming the moment Misa Misa laid her eyes on Light! Since then Light has been Misa Misa's all ! Misa Misa will do anything for Light!" she said dreamily, clinging onto his arm even more possessively.

Hiromi watched the scene and sweat-dropped anime-style.

"What does Yagami-kun has to say?" Hiromi smiled hesitantly as both she and Misa looked at Light, awaiting his answer.

"Yes, Misa is a prized treasure of mine," Light said smoothly in a composed emotionless voice, which unsettled Hiromi; however the rare compliment seemed to content Misa enough to shut up into a dazed state. _Finally!_

Light, being the extremely polite gentleman he was, (no, he wouldn't ever admit that he wanted to leave a good impression of himself on the girl who had seen him previously in a dire and embarrassing situation) and decided to make small talk:

"So, Hiromi-san…if I may call you that?"- To which he received an affirmative nod, and continued- "You are a pharmacist, I assume?" and raised a brow inquiringly.

Hiromi almost choked on her coffee, being startled by Light's remark on her yet to be revealed occupation. However, she quickly regained her composure and spoke out in a shy yet confident voice, "You're right, Yagami-kun. Nonetheless I wonder what made you jump to that conclusion…?"

"Please call me Light. Well, I noticed the apron in your bag, also the blotch on your leather boot, which signify chemical burns, highly possible in only facilitated laboratories and not to mention that it's rather hard to miss the ID around your neck," Light said smiling gracefully at the blinking raven-head before both of them broke into a fit of chuckles, not noticing the now- fuming possessive blonde girlfriend.

Their little coffee out had progressed pretty comfortably after that; Hiromi, who had been too shy to talk before because of the aforementioned lingerie incident, had opened up a little more, and they, Light and Hiromi, had a witty chit-chat for an hour more, during which Hiromi had received a call from someone and declared that she had to leave.

They were now waiting outside the coffee shop for Hiromi's car and idly talking, Misa pouting rudely for reasons unknown both Light and Hiromi, when Hiromi suddenly halted in her speech to bring Light's attention to a covert bespectacled man in a professional navy-blue suit, in his mid 30s, and asked whether he Light's acquaintance, for she had noticed him trailing them for a while now.

Light frowned internally at the implications, although he dismissed her suspicions outside, L had again sent another FBI dog on his tail.

Just then a rather eye-catching Boulgatti arrived and skidded to a halt just behind them. Its tinted windows lowered to reveal a spiky red-haired man, no older than in his mid-twenties, with tattoos and piercing, who merely jerked his head in a "Get in" motion.

It was her call, and Hiromi turned around to say good bye; hugging Misa before going to shake hands with Light. However, at first contact of skin, Hiromi froze; her form stiff, her eyes glazed over as she started at Light, who was not faring any better.

Both of them stood like that as if in a trance, Hiromi gripping Light's hand which earned her heated glare from Misa, until two heads- one with a mass of fiery red hair and the other shrouded in shades of black and matching red- bobbed up from the passengers seat, beside the person occupying the drivers seat, and simultaneously cat-called "Oh Hiromi's got a _boyfriend_!" before breaking into high fives, causing Hiromi to snap out her trance and quickly let go of Light's hand and Misa to glare even more at Hiromi.

The tattooed guy merely raised an eyebrow, no doubt curious about the boyfriend comment, at Hiromi, who quite red in the face, gave the two boys an evil look that promised excruciating pain and hissed, "Dante, Grimjoe if you two value your genitals and don't want to stagger back to the mansion in crutches, then shut up!" causing both males to let out a squeal (which, according to them, was a manly squeak, thank you very much) and fall silent.

Hiromi awkwardly muttered a hurried goodbye to Light and Misa before slipping into the seat beside the driver. The car sped off and was out of their sight when Light realized that they didn't get Hiromi's contact info to which, much to Light's bewilderment, Misa replied with a venomous "Good!"

XxXxx

Hiromi sat in the car, her face set in a frown. From beside her, the red-haired driver glanced at her before asking, "What's on your mind, Hiromi?"

Hiromi let out a frustrated sigh before replying, "It's just that, there's this something about Light…"

"Light?" Dante piped in, "You mean that guy by the café? Your _boyfriend_?" and both he and his red-haired partner in crime broke out in a fit of snickers which were promptly silenced when met with Hiromi's glare of doom.

"It's just that you know," Hiromi said hesitantly looking at the man beside her, "He feels like one of us, Griffin. But it's just not that, I feel like there's something more."

Griffin's eyes widened while the two in the backseat went exceptionally serious.

"Are you sure, Hiromi?" Grimjoe asked.

"Yeah, I'm but I don't know what it is," Hiromi replied before looking Griffin in the eye, "Take me to _Him_."

* * *

Teaser for next chapter

_L's eyes widened as he looked at the object in Watari's hand. An envelope which no doubt contained a letter but it was marked with the royal seal, which no doubt spelled out his doom. _

"_Sir, you have been invited by the Queen to attend the coming of age ceremony of Lord Elijah Draconian," Watari said with a big smile on his face as he handed the letter over to L. L's groan of annoyance could be heard all through out the building._

"_Moreover," Watari continued, "Her highness suggested that you wear a suit."_

_L screamed._

Elliot: Review and we'll make L actually blush for you! X3

Robin and Elliot: Happy Friendship Day everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter-5**

_Invitation_

The man kept on running, ignoring the pain of his wounded leg, his eyes wide and darting around frantically. He stumbled into an alleyway, collapsing against the grimy wall. He took in his surrounding; his eyes had a crazed and frenzied look in them, like a cornered animal waiting for an attack.

The man tensed at the sound of unhurried footsteps and his eyes widened further, fear evident in those depths, as he saw the latest arrival in the alley.

The new arrival smirked as he looked at the cowering man before him and uttered, "_Pathetic_."

The man whimpered and pleaded, "Please, please release me! I didn't do anything! Please! I won't say anything I swear!"

The newly arrived dark-haired man stared at the begging mongrel before coolly replying, "You have seen too much. You know too much. _A foul evil loathsome little cockroach like you doesn't deserve to live_!"

A pained and agonized scream reverberated through the otherwise isolated alleyway. The dark-haired man left the alley in an unhurried pace, the same way he came in, not sparing a second glance to the bloodied mess he left behind.

XxXxX

There was no light in the room except for the copious amount of screens. The monitor strewn all over with tiny black words glared in the darkness, barely illuminating the wide-eyed hunch-backed figure positioned in front of it. The figure chewed intently on his thumb as if it was a new one-of-kind flavor of a lollipop or something similar, pausing only to adjust the black of his orbs with his index and thumb, before continuing to scan the information laid out before him of the latest victim of the case:

Name: Albus Chester (Deceased)

Age: 54

Gender: Male

Nationality: English

Height: 196 cm (6'4")

Appearance: silvery white hair (due to age), chest length white beard, blue eyes

Professional status: Professor, Lecturer, Author, Historian, Linguist

Affiliation: London University, Linguistics and Anthropology Department

Hobbies: Travelling around the world to archaeological sites and collecting old encrypted tablets, papyruses, etc.

Relation status: Unmarried

Wife: Nil

Child: Nil

Father: John Chester

Mother: Mary Chester nee Taylor

Siblings: Nil

Pet dog: … Pet cat: … Pet goldfish: … Pet canary: … Pet rabbit: … Pet snake: …

The list of irrelevant and unnecessary inconsistencies trailed on and on, eventually reaching to 'Favorite Pajama Colour: Blue, with white bunny prints,' was the last irksome piece of information L read before he nearly snapped. But since he was L and L was always, always composed (and throwing a childish tantrum or pulling his hair out was something reserved only in case of sweet withdrawal otherwise it was unacceptable) even when he was forced to read to such unnecessary trash.

So, all he did to vent out his pent-up frustration was to…yes, yes you guessed it right. He roughly chomped down on another batch of sugar-coated strawberry-topped chocolate cupcake, and slurped down (a little louder than usual) a mouthful of his saccharine Earl Gray tea, before turning his attention back to the multiple monitors.

He scrolled down and checked the information provider's name who had presented him with such garbage to read and wasn't even the teensiest bit surprised to see the name of a certain 'Touda Matsuda'. So L, acting promptly on cue and without a second thought, disposed discarded his previously unfinished and opened another more sober and less quirky version of the victim's resume.

His dark lens flitted across the screen with practiced speed, absorbing all tidbits of information on the newest 'London Kira' victim like a sponge and neatly storing all the details into his seemingly endless void of a brain.

As he kept on reading, he couldn't help but be amused and intrigued; the latest victim- Albus Chester, had a profile as clean as it could get: born and brought up in a moderately rich British family, graduated from relatively well-known schools and universities with flying colours, after which he spent a lifetime scavenging through various ancient archaeological sites, unraveling linguistic mysteries and paradoxes, and finally settling down as a professor at London University.

There was hardly any dirt on the old man's character, other than a few instances where Albus gotten a ticket for illegal parking or smoking in public places, which didn't really count, and which was L's main concern, because he was very much sure that the death wasn't the result of natural causes.

L kept scrolling down, searching for useful information, until something caught his eyes. It looked like he found some dirt after all. It would seem that in the past the late Professor Albus had been involved in a scandalous event where he had been suspected of bypassing into restricted property and forging valuable possession. The diary was filed by a man called 'Gray Bond' employed under a relatively successful businessman named 'Zubab Panni', who, as L found out, was a shady character in the underground and is infamous in the black-market for his skills in jewel and gem-dealing, but the case hadn't lasted very long and all the suspicions were very soon dismissed after the interference of Lord Elijah Draconion, who was supposed to have been supervising the entire 'misunderstood business deal'. L mentally noted down the names, determined to do a thorough research on the aforementioned people.

As L had noted down earlier, Albus Chester was not the usual Kira-esque victim and neither were all those other victims who had 'mysteriously died' over the past few years and the death toll increased relatively greatly after the revelation of the existence of Kira. The victims had died by what was known by the public as heart failure, but, according to the doctors, heart failures weren't exactly the right term, apparently the victims' body had just stopped working because the brain had shut down, even though they were perfectly healthy.

The Scotland Yard had suspected it to be the work of Kira, using a slightly different method than heart failure, what's with all the victims, though not all of them were criminals, being not exactly the epitome of 'perfect citizens'. However L was quick to find out that these deaths had started long before Kira came into the picture, only a few deaths here and there, not enough to garner attention. But after Kira was made known those deaths had increased just enough for people to notice something amiss. Recently though the deaths have increased to the point of making the locals worry.

It was not like L was saying that there wasn't the possibility that it was the work of Kira, however he was very certain that it wasn't something that Light-kun did. The first Kira, which he knew was Light-kun, went after criminals or eliminated anyone that stood in his way and the second Kira, Miss Amane, was merely the follower of the first and won't do anything without Light-kun's permission. These deaths, on the other hand, weren't their usual work and unlike them. But then again there was always the likelihood that this was one of Light-kun's well devised plans to lure L into a trap and wait for the right moment to strike. As paranoid and dramatic as it sounded, L knew enough not to overrule it.

There was also a fairly large possibility that another person had gotten their hands on the death note or any other Shinigami artifact and was committing these crimes for a misguided notion of justice or something similar. Or all these could be, as hopeful and superstitious as it sounded, merely coincidence, which L didn't believe in and thus immediately dismissed the notion.

There was also the fact to consider that, even though Albus Chester's death was similar to 'heart failure, his room had shown signs of forced entry (through the window) and he was physically assaulted as well. It could have very well been a thug or an enemy of his had come after the Professor using aggression and Albus' body, due to old age, couldn't quite handle the pressure might be a possible cause for the old man's death. L was still waiting for the forensic report on the victim to arrive to make any further analysis.

L leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. There was little doubt in L's mind now that this case had anything to do with the Kira case L was working on. While this case would prove to be challenging and might just involve the death note however he didn't think this case was going to help him prove that Light-kun was Kira. A nagging doubt made its way in to the detectives mind: Was he wrong to accept this case?

No, that trail of thought would only hinder his investigation. And besides he had a battles to win- he wasn't going to lose to some arrogant shortie that was for sure. Speaking of battles, L smirked as he remembered the aristocratic short-tempered kid. He wouldn't actually ever admit it out loud but the young Phantomhive reminded L of himself. He had already heard, via his connections, that the Phantomhive prodigy was good at solving cases with supernatural efficiency that many declared that the boy was in par with L himself, which was also why he _issued_ the competition, to test himself.

Feeling invigorated at the possibility of another challenging competitor along with Light-kun, L turned back to his research. He was currently looking up the details about Professor Albus' latest writing, a book that goes by the name: 'Nirvana- Fantasy or Future?' where the author was trying to prove that the actual reality and the truth behind mythologies, a work for which he had received many contradictory criticisms; which also explained why and who would be infuriated at this. Albus Chester had developed many enemies after revealing the summary of his yet unpublished book, but L was confirmed that these anti-Pagan groups would only venture as far as idle threats and wouldn't dare to go for the kill.

As L was going through the list of people who had received a copy of the original manuscript, he was however interrupted by a sharp coded knock on the door to his personal workplace, indicating the arrival father-like British butler-come-accomplice. L shifted in his seat, looking up from the numerous computers, in the hope that Watari had been kind enough to present him with another marvelous short cake or the like.

But L's panda-eyes widened as he looked at the object in Watari's hand. An envelope which no doubt contained a letter but it was marked with the royal seal, which no doubt spelled out his doom.

"Sir, you have been invited by the Queen to attend the coming of age ceremony of Lord Elijah Draconian," Watari said with a big smile on his face as he handed the letter over to L. L's groan of annoyance could be heard all through out the building.

"Moreover," Watari continued, "Her highness suggested that you wear a suit."

L screamed.

XxXxX

Twilight was approaching. There was no change in the atmosphere except for the fact that it was getting darker as the sun steadily descended over the horizon. In the background he could hear the chirping of the birds while the rustling sound of leaves seemed to synchronize with it. Ciel rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he looked up at the clear sky through the tinted window of his car.

Thousands thought flitted across his mind ranging from the newest case he was assigned to the insufferable detective and his employee with whom he was told to work with. Thinking of the detective, Ciel was reminded of the challenge and the events that led to it, causing his eyes to twitch. There was going to be no way that Ciel was going to lose to that arrogant man. He was going to win no matter what it took, and make that man eat his words.

His thoughts and musings however were broken by his butler who asked him, "Master, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Sebastian. You don't have to worry about such matters, just do as you are told," Ciel replied curtly in his heavily accented British inflection before turning his head and turned his attention back towards the sky. The sun was setting.

'_Another day is about to end, another night for evil to prey again, another end for a new beginning.'_

"We have arrived, my lord" Sebastian announced as the car came to a halt in a narrow alley. The alley was remote area and there were no signs of life on the streets. Sebastian held the door open for his master to get off. Ciel stepped out of the car, with noble grace, his eyes determined, in front of an old rundown store.

The shop was badly maintained, its sign-board was hung in a precarious position while covered with dust that one could barely read what was written. The walls were fade-away grey with a few perforations. It was factual indeed to be called the shop of the unique Undertaker. Ciel was prepared completely prepared for what he was going to face now. He knew it wouldn't be easy to leak information from a guy like him but with Sebastian Michaelis on his side, nothing was impossible.

Sebastian walked towards the rotten, wooden door, which hardly seemed to be serving the purpose of a door, and knocked like a young gentleman.

"Undertaker, are you there?" Sebastian called out. A prolonged moment of silence was his reply until they both heard a loud creaking sound. Both of their snapped upwards, then suddenly the signboard fell off its hinges. Sebastian, albeit caught by surprise, smoothly dodged the signboard that fell over him.

"Well that never happened before," Sebastian said, a little bewildered, before wryly saying, "This is without any doubt Undertaker's shop."

Ciel blinked at the change of events before replying, "I guess so." As if to prove a point, the door squeaked open and crashed on the floor with a resounding thud.

After another moment of prolonged silence later Sebastian cleared his throat and said, "Well, let's head inside, my lord."

"Indeed, indeed," Ciel exhaled heavily before following Sebastian inside the shabby shop. The atmosphere inside the shop was quite claustrophobic and reeked with the smell of a scented perfumed, rose flavor; which irritated Sebastian's sense of smell. The fragrance was too aristocratic compared to the rather foul interior, full of cobwebs and dust, of the gloomy shop. The room was cluttered with coffins, as expected, and there was barely any other furniture.

"Where is he?" Ciel wondered aloud, although it was pretty much given that Undertaker was hidden somewhere in the room, most likely in the coffin in the middles, which for some reason seemed to be Undertaker's favorite.

"It is quite vile and nastier than before, Master," Sebastian said in an offhand voice about the room before going over to pull the cover of the aforementioned coffin and looked inside, however Undertaker was not there. Sebastian sighed before frowning, looking left and right, wondering about Undertaker's whereabouts while Ciel awaited with his arms crossed.

"Ta-da," Undertaker exclaimed as he jumped out of a cupboard on the extreme corner to the right of the room with his usual mocking look on his face, causing Ciel and Sebastian to straighten up in surprise. Undertaker's already impossibly large grin widened some more as he saw that he had gained the desired reaction from his audience before leaping over and sat on the reception desk.

"Ciel Phantomhive, it's been awhile since you last came here," he said as he crossed his legs, "I almost thought you have forgotten about little old me, a depressing thought indeed. Though I have a question, Lord Phantomhive, why is it that you have not grown any taller?"

Sebastian caught side of his Master's face, which was getting redder by the second, who looked ready to explode and intervened, "Enough of the silliness, Undertaker. We are here to talk business."

"Yes, yes but I'm rather sad you see that I hadn't gotten an invitation to your wedding Sebastian, my dear friend?" Undertaker said, giving off a superficial hurt aura. At the sight of his companions' clueless and dumbfounded faces, he elaborated, "Grell stopped by a while ago, claiming that he was getting married to Sebastian."

Ciel face-palmed while an extremely concentrated evil aura surrounded Sebastian which caused Undertaker to fall off the desk with an 'eek' sound and start babbling nonsense. Suffice to say it took a few minutes for the situation to calm down.

"How can I help you?" Undertaker asked.

"I want information, whatever you know about the deaths that have occurred," Ciel stated.

"Ah, about the Kira-like victims I presume? However, you know as well as I, that I won't leak anything until you give me something in return," Undertaker said with his usual loopy grin.

"State what you want and it's yours."

"You know what I want, Lord Phantomhive."

"Alright, but remember if the information is not precise…," Ciel said.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Undertaker grinned.

"Sebastian, you know what to do," Ciel said turning his attention towards his butler.

"Yes, my lord. If you'd please wait outside as I handle this ordeal," Sebastian said with a slight bow. Ciel nodded before briskly exiting the shop to wait outside. Ciel stood outside the shop and couldn't help but wonder what Sebastian did to get Undertaker to laugh.

There was a moment of silence until…

"Bwuhahahahahahahahahaha…!"

'_On second thought, I don't want to know.'_

Ciel re-entered the shop to see Undertaker literally rolling on the floor laughing while Sebastian was busy brushing off imaginary dust from his clothing.

"Are you ready to talk now, Undertaker?"

"After that little stunt, oh yes…"

…

After getting the required information from Undertaker, Ciel and Sebastian exited the shop. The sun had by now set and night had befallen them. Sebastian went forward and held open the car door for his master. Ciel stepped inside the car before turning his attention towards his butler and said:

"Find out anything you can about Zubbab Panni and whatever it is that he is hiding."

* * *

Teaser for next chapter:

_Light turned around, checking whether he'd seen correct. And then, he'd seen something he never thought would be possible ...there in the bright corner beside the desert table, stood L, complete in a suit...and good posture? Light pinched himself, unable to believe his eyes._

Elliot: I finally finished editing. Phew.

Robin: Review~|


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter-6**

_Let's Party_

A pack of blurry shadows sped past the landscape filled with apple trees at high speed. The group was being led by a female, whose nature appeared to be feline, who looked like a predatory animal searching for her prey. She stopped for a split second, comprehension dawning on her face, before she shot off noiselessly like a bullet into the orchard, leaving a cloud of dust and fallen leaves at her wake, a few firefly-like objects tailing behind her. Her companions followed after her immediately, down the partly secluded trail amidst the trees, struggling to catch up to her inhuman momentum.

The feline-type female stopped in the shadows of the trees just in front of a clearing, which consisted of a stately aged white marbled structure that was glowing under the moonlight: a church. She scanned the area, finding what she was looking for, before casually leaning against a tree, examining her perfectly manicured nails.

Her companions caught up to her and were made aware of her findings.

"Target acquired. Object is safe and in position. Guard sighted. Mission: _Gem_ will commence. Waiting for instructions," a rather passive-looking female stated in a monotonous voice in a blinking object in her year. Immediately, two letters molded out of ice in front of them in the grass: 'GO'.

She faced the catlike woman and simply said, "Lamia, your cue."

XxXxX

A high pitched mechanical screech reverberated throughout the walls of the enormous baseball-court-sized ballroom, causing all its occupants to cringe and cover their ears to protect them from the deafening noise. Immediately, Light's eyes, along with the eyes of many thousands, zeroed down to the huge flat screen TV at the end of the ballroom (which was recording what was happening on the stage below to give the audience a good view), attempting to spot what or who was responsible for the sudden un-called-for disturbance.

His ever-observant eyes, along with the other guests, who were aristocrats or nobilities in their own respective ways- ranging from business-tycoons, to top of he world models, singers, actors and athletes, to re-known socialists and educationalists, to the eccentric duo who occupied the flat-screen TV at the moment.

The culprit of the commotion turned out to be a glistening black-haired man, who looked to be in his late twenties, dressed in a tailored black suit and strikingly odd diamond studded cufflinks and buttons shaped like…Wait, were those chicken drumsticks? Not only the buttons, but the man was also wearing an earring of the same comical design.

Light heard someone beside him whisper, "Hey! Isn't that Black, the owner of the multi-million dollar chicken fry franchise and Lord Elijah's legal advisor?" Light snorted inwardly, thinking how the man's chicken-obsession couldn't get any less obvious.

The man attempted to talk on the mike, Light, due to his superior hearing sense, could make out to be, 'Hi! Wait! Why isn't this mike working?!...Oh god! It's my entire fault, isn't it? I'm sorry!' The black-haired man was muttering sorry and attempting to get the mike to work while the man behind him, his hair a striking shade of silver and dressed entirely in white except for his shoes, supported a massive sweat drop and said, 'Black, bro, calm down!" which didn't actually help the situation but only seemed to escalate the former host's apologetic tirade.

The silver haired man, who looked to be in his early twenties, grabbed the accursed mike, impatiently tapped on it, his eyebrows furrowed in a frown, before calling out, 'Yo! Wayne!'- loud enough for everyone inside and outside the room to hear.

In a matter of seconds, another man, came rushing into the screen, with an aura of a sleepoholic who had been abruptly awaken from a pleasant slumber, an exasperated look on his face. He was followed by a petite blond man, who looked kinda sheepish.

The man on the lead, who Light presumed to be Wayne, sent an annoyed look towards the silver haired man and asked gruffly, "What do you want, Cole?"

Cole merely handed the mike over to Wayne, while his companion said something to the other two men. Something along the lines of 'Sorry…My fault…Tripped.'

Wayne just gave an examining glance towards the object in concern and with a quick motion compromised of speed and precision unknown to man, claimed to have fixed the technical fault, before storming out of the room as fast as he had arrived, his companion following behind him.

Cole, seeing as Black was still stunned at the abrupt intrusion and stood gaping, took the initiative and spoke into the mike, 'Anyone alive?'. The question, though it made Light roll his eyes, incited a series of giggles and hearty chuckles from the occupants of the room.

Satisfied with the outcome, Cole introduced himself before handing the mike over to Black, who was now grinning sheepishly and blushing embarrassedly at his previous slip-up, but managed to regain his composure.

"Hello ladies and gentleman!" Black jovially announced into the microphone, "Sorry for the little delay. We were facing technical difficulties because of the wiring courtesy of our all time favorite Sanji. But now it's all ok, thanks to the ever brilliant (and scary) Wayne. For those who don't know me, my name is Black and me, along with Cole, will serve as your hosts for tonight.

Tonight we are gathered here, in this magnificent mansion, to celebrate the 19th birthday, coming of age party, and crowning ceremony, of the heir to the prestigious Draconion family, Lord Elijah L. Draconion. Tonight, at midnight, the start of a new day, Lord Elijah will turn 19. And he'll be crowned rightful Lord of his family by Her Majesty, the Queen," here Black paused to give the audience, few who weren't aware, time to digest the information before continuing.

"Eh heh heh! It's the little lord's 19th birthday already! I can't believe it! It seems like it was just a few days ago when he used to follow me around, asking for advice, bent on learning his away around the business, so that one day he could his rightful position. And now, I'm proud to say that he has grown into a fine young gentleman.

I've, of course, taught him all about life- starting from proper manner on how to eat a chicken leg to the respectful ways one should treat a fried chicken- and I have nothing to teach him…Oh they grow up so fast!"- sniffle- "Soon before you know it, even your own kid will abandon you in your graying days, and you will be left, all alone, reminiscing about your glorious days with only you and your chicken legs! Oh woe!" and Black finally burst into a series of comically distressed wails, spouting waterfalls from both his eyes, causing Cole to roll his eyes at his companion.

Whispered giggles distracted Light's focus from the now bickering duo. The older man's childlike behavioural display had caught Light off-guard, and the unfazed and amused expressions on the guest's faces showed that they were well accustomed to such displays. They were adults for gods' sake, and multi-billion dollar businessmen weren't supposed to act like some five year old kid with a bad case of mood swings in front of the entire world now, were they? What were they thinking, acting all brash and irrational, exposing all their emotions out in public? That wasn't proper business attitude. Couldn't they just fake a 'composed' mask?

A soft gentle tap on his shoulder momentarily distracted Light from his musings, and he had to look down to meet eyes with a small petite girl, no taller than Light's shoulder. She was a wearing an elegant green shoulder-less frock with black embroidery and laces. She ruffled the frills of her dress, before looking up at Light and chirped cutely, "The real fun is yet to come nya!" her emerald eyes glimmered behind her nerdy glasses.

As if on cue, there was a loud sound of the mike hitting something hard, causing Light to immediately snap his head around to face the LCD monitor just in time to watch a blur of silver obstruct the camera's focus.

Blinking, Light gaped at Black, who now sported a pout as pronounced as the recently produced bump on his skull, and then focused on the familiar skull-shaped dent recently embedded on the mike-stand which Cole was now brandishing like a weapon. Raising his 'weapon' above his head like a guillotine about to kill, Cole wiggled his eyebrows at Black as if to say, "Need more?" and upon receiving a whine, which could be translated as Black's version of 'I yield', Cole sat the mike-stand down back on stage.

Cole cleared his throat, and resumed where the announcement had ended previously, "As you all are well aware, Black has a habit of trailing off, and I apologize on his behalf. Now, without further ado, I present to you, the man of the hour, Lord Elijah!" and with that, Cole exited the stage, dragging a pouty, cross-armed Black behind him, who, by the looks of it, was now giving Cole the silent treatment.

Stage-smoke clouded the stage, and from amidst the laser-display of extravagant technological artistry, emerged a tall figure of a man, dressed immaculately in a tasteful pristine pinstriped black two-piece business suit, his black hair gelled back, his scarlet red eyes glinting. With swift and confident strides, he briskly walked up to the microphone, an aura of noble 'wow'-ness radiating off his very posture and elegant composure, and warmly greeted with a small smile, "Hello, everyone."

And immediately, all hell broke loose, or so it seemed to Light Yagami, who was now too preoccupied to even worry about his cool composed social façade, so busy was he with fighting to protect his ears from the high-pitched fan-girl squeals, the loudest of them coming from beside Light, which Light recognized to be Misa's voice. As he fought to regain his composure, Light couldn't help but sympathize and feel bad for the handsome man on stage; even he didn't have it this bad with fan-girls.

The irritating high-pitched voices died down noticeably to more tolerable levels, and eventually stopped altogether when the dark-haired man, with a simple hand gesture, resumed his previously interrupted welcome speech, "Thank you all for the warm welcome. And my earnest respects to Mr. Black, my best business advisor, and his companion Mr. Cole, for taking all the trouble of being tonight's host. Also, I thank you all for sparing the time out of your precious lives to attend my humble gathering. Honestly, it's a pleasure having you all here!

Now, without further delay, I would like to announce the highlights of tonight's program."

Light listened patiently as the man; Elijah went on explaining a few details while intently scrutinizing Elijah's profile. There was something about the man that didn't bode well with Light. And the fact that disturbed Light the most was the colour of the man's eyes. It was too similar to the colour of the Shinigami's eyes. Like Ryuuk.

Speaking of Ryuuk, Light discreetly glanced back to see his apple-loving companion, who was oddly quiet since the party started. The lack of 'Ku ku ku's , however annoying they were, were starting to greatly disturb Light. Before Light could ask Ryuuk, who was currently staring at the stage with an odd fascination, probably because of the smoke, anything the audience gave a large round of applause for something that Elijah said causing Light's attention to focus back on the man on the screen.

"..Thank you, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Getting back to the topic at hand, like all parties we are going to have a party game. We are going to have a dance show-off!" Elijah said, letting the audience process the information, "The rules of the game are quite simple. You start off with one partner, but when the song stops you have to change your partner before the next song starts. The time interval between the endings of one song to the start of another is 10 seconds. 10 seconds is the time you'll have to change your dance partner. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. Mr. Black and Mr. Cole will keep track of the scores. And the winning couple will receive a gift from the Apple Company, our latest invention, along with a treat, courtesy of Mr. Black.

Since there will be a partner change after each song, there is a huge possibility that you will end up dancing with some you have never met before or don't know. So, I suggest, ladies and gentlemen, you get yourself acquainted.

The game will start when I'll enter the dance floor, so the people who want to participate have to be on the dance floor before I do. Anyone who is found on the dance floor prior to the beginning of the game will be listed down as competitors, and every competitor will have a spot-light on them. And for anyone who wishes to dance for enjoyment, please use the space around the dance floor.

So, I have one thing to say, better get dancing because who knows when the mood to dance will strike me!" Elijah said before bidding a quick goodbye and exiting the stage with a faint wave of his hand, and soft, slow-paced melody hummed through the speakers.

"Oh come on Light! I want to meet Lord Draconion," Misa squealed and before Light could comprehend anything else, he was pulled with an inhuman acceleration through the crowd by Misa. In no time, Light found himself, surprisingly intact and unbroken, panting, and standing in front of none other than their red-eyed host, smiling at them.

Misa curtsied in front of Elijah, much to Light's shock and amazement; he didn't think Misa had ay sense of etiquette or was even aware of the way one of a lesser background had to greet a Lord of the Ancient and Noble line. If you are not in a position of respect, not greeting a Lord or heir in a proper manner was considered the highest form of disrespect. The Lord wouldn't return the curtsy to a lesser line but would have to do so to another Lord of the ancient and Nobles line. It has been said that, in the past, conflict and fights had broken out between the high-class families because of this reason. And while the primordial rules weren't as strict and severe as they were a long time back, they were still followed.

Light himself was so busy being shocked and contemplating about the fact that Misa might have a semblance of a brain after all that he himself had forgotten to curtsy the Lord in front of him, something, Light would soon discover, Elijah didn't take kindly.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you Lord Draconion," Misa chirped enthusiastically, her English slightly faltering because of lack of use, "My name is Misa Amane. I'm one of the models hired in the advertisement of the latest products of your company. I'm so excited. I can't wait to work with your company."

"You're the model from the Japanese department that I've heard about. Let me assure you, my lady, the pleasures all mine," Elijah said, his red eyes gleaming with merriment, as he took Misa's hand in his and lightly kissed her hand, making Misa giggle. Light was so busy observing the interaction between his so-called girlfriend and the character that was known as Elijah Draconion that he almost jumped out of skin, startled, when he heard a series of the thrice damned 'Ku ku ku's. Light slightly tuned his head and glared at Ryuuk, but Ryuuk was far too busy laughing in amusement at the scene in front of him to pay Light any heed.

Light followed Ryuuk's line of sight only to find Misa and Lord Elijah, but Light, having the eyes for details, immediately spotted the difference. Elijah's posture had gone rigid, he was still holding Misa's hand in a slackened grip, though he seem to be unaware of it, Misa was too busy chatting to notice any change, not minding, or unaware as well, that her hand was still being held. The man wore a passive facial expression, and to any normal observer nothing would seem wrong, but his scarlet red eyes lightly wide in shock and bewilderment and he was staring at the space that was being covered by Ryuuk.

For one sinking moment, Light could have sworn that Elijah could see Ryuuk. _'But that couldn't be…could it?'_

Light lightly cleared his throat, causing Elijah to snap out his haze. He subtly let go of Misa's hand, which he realized he was holding, before turning his attention to Light. His eyes flicked at something over Light's head, which brought a smile of amusement in Elijah's face, before fixating them on Light's profile.

"Oh let me introduce you Lord Draconion," Misa gushed, gesturing to Light, "This is my boyfriend."

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Lord Elijah Draconion," Elijah drawled out, pinning Light under his intense stare.

"It's Light Yagami and the pleasure is mine," Light said, slightly uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze.

"Is that so? I would have thought that your name would be read as Tsuki (Moon) not Raito (Light)," Elijah mused. Light was slightly impressed at Elijah's in depth knowledge of Japanese kanji, then again as the Lord of an Ancient and Nobel family he had to be versed well with different languages, but froze when a thought occurred to him. He never told Elijah how his name is written in kanji. How did that man know? And judging by the look on Elijah's face, Light got the distinct feeling that Elijah knew what he was thinking.

"That's the same mistake I did when I first read his name," Misa giggled, not getting anything as usual.

"It is an easy mistake to make, my lady. Can I ask what your boyfriend does for a living?" Elijah asked.

"Oh he's just a student."

"Just a student?" Elijah repeated, raising an eyebrow, before trailing off, "I would have thought that the boyfriend of a famous model would be something more…"

Light could feel his left eyes twitch at the subtle jibe. But before Light could open his mouth to say anything Elijah started talking to Misa about the advertisement on the products that Misa was going to model for, completely ignoring Light's existence.

Light's left eye gave another twitch. Why the nerve of that man! Nobody ignored Light! Light's fingers were twitching to write Elijah's name on the piece of death note in his wristwatch. The only thing that was stopping Light was the puzzle that Elijah presented. Even though he was from a high-class background and was honored to be crowned by the Queen, very little was known about Elijah's personal information. Light couldn't find much information; the only thing he could find was that Elijah was mostly home-tutored after which he graduated from London University, majoring in business studies while minoring in linguistics and anthropology, this manor was his main residence though he had several others estates, all in all the Draconions could rival the Phantomhives in terms of status and wealth.

He also found out that, after probing in the police-restricted database, that the Draconions, along with the Phantomhives and few others, dealt with the underground work given to them by the Queen. There was also the fact that even though Elijah wasn't publicly head of the family or business yet, but he had been given the title of Lord at a very young age, at a younger age then Ciel Phantomhive was given the title of Lord, after both his father and mother were found dead, leaving him the only one suitable for taking care of the business and family estates.

Light looked down, and sure enough, spotted a ring with grand décor, which was no doubt the Draconion Lord ring, and a blood-red stone which was similar colour to Elijah's eyes.

Elijah was the one, in the end, who was doing all the work of his company, planning out all the exclusive business strategies, and was the reason why his company has advanced more in the last ten years than it did in over hundred years. The public face of the company was the main manager, Andrew Frost, because the public wouldn't accept an underage head, no matter how competent they were, while Elijah pulled the strings from the shadows. He did all this and he wasn't even, technically, 19 years of age yet and it made Light have a grudging respect for the man.

What was most puzzling to Light about Elijah was the unsettling vibes he got from the man and everything about the man screams at Light that he knows a lot more than he lets on.

"-yes, I'm so excited about the dance! I hope I win," Light tuned back into the conversation between Misa and Elijah just in time to hear that.

"Are you going to dance with Mr. Yagami?" Elijah asked. At Misa's enthusiastic nod, he continued, "I didn't peg him for the dancing type. I don't think it would suit him. And I don't believe he would participate let alone win in the competition."

Light's left eye twitched again, this time more vicious. He very well understood Elijah's intention. The man was purposely baiting him, to get a rise out of him, but he would soon know that Light gave as good as got. Light's competitive nature wouldn't allow him to refuse such an open challenge.

"I do believe Lord Draconion that I'm a competent enough dancer to win a competition such as _this_," Light intervened smoothly, looking directly into Elijah's eyes, letting him know that Light had accepted the challenge that he had issued. Elijah let out an amused chuckle before saying, "I look forward to it."

"Aw Light we are going to rock the dance floor," Misa gushed, unbeknownst to the underlying tense atmosphere between the two teens, latching onto Light's arm, before addressing Elijah, "Don't you think we look great together?"

"Yes, lovely. You two suit each other," Elijah said, his eyes flickering behind Light as he said the next sentence, "You two make a _deadly_ duo.

"It's been lovely chatting with you Ms. Amane, Mr. Yagami, however, its time I take my leave. Hope to see you again soon." Elijah gave another kiss on Misa's hand before taking his leave.

Misa giggled and gave doe-y eyed looks at Elijah's retreating backside, causing Light to roll his eyes before turning his attention back to Elijah, who had stopped to have a conversation with a spiky-haired man in their direct view, when someone switched on Light's light bulb.

"Misa," Light crooned, and Misa bobbed up to face him, "What can you see _on_ Lord Draconion?" Light had a few suspicions but he wanted Misa to confirm it with her eyes.

Misa blinked before Light's words registered in her mind and immediately stared up at the space above the Lord's head, "Well, his name is there. The kanji of his name is weird, the only thing I can make out is the kanji of 'lord' and his lifespan is…umm, wait! I can't see it," Misa said while she strained to see, "Maybe it's because of the lighting because I don't see it."

But Light knew very well it wasn't because of the lighting, his suspicions were confirmed. The only case when a person's lifespan was not visible when viewed by Shinigami eyes was if the person was a death note owner. Therefore, Elijah L. Draconion was Kira, the London Kira, the lone person responsible for the deaths of many petty criminals. And he must have bargained with his Shinigami to give the Shinigami eyes, which means Elijah knew Light was Kira as well. _Crap!_

Light decided not to jump to conclusions. While there was a possibility that Elijah was the London Kira but it could also be a misunderstanding on Light's part. The idea did sound rather far-fetched. However, even if his theory was right or wrong, Light decided to be careful around Elijah because the Draconion, even without being Kira, would make a deadly foe.

Light turned around to ask, or rather manipulate Ryuuk into telling him if Elijah truly was the London Kira, only to find that the thrice damned Shinigami was gone yet again. Before Light could even begin to contemplate about Ryuuk's abrupt disappearance, his 'fan-girl' senses started to tingle.

Light turned around to face Misa only to find her uncomfortably close to him, as usual, with a huge smile on her face, her head tilted slightly to the side, giving him what appeared to be 'puppy-dog eyes', which caused the warning bells in Light's head to go off.

Misa started, "Light, lets dance-"

Light did the only thing he could do.

"Misa!" he said, pointing at something behind Misa, "Look! A distraction!"

"Where?" Misa asked, turning around, excited and perplexed.

It took Light less than a fraction of a second to gather his wits and make a run for it. He really didn't think he would be able to withstand another ordeal with Misa's overzealous activities. And there was also the fact that he had a competition to win. The game required people to change dance partners periodically, or else face disqualification, and knowing Misa, she'd rather kill of all the people present just to be able to dance with Light than let someone else touch her 'precious Light', and with his pride on the line, Light couldn't allow that to happen.

Eyes hovering on the dance floor to check whether the game had began yet- it didn't, Light picked up his pace. He needed to get as far away from Misa as possible and also to find that goddamn Shinigami who had yet again slipped away, the second time in the span of one week without notifying Light what-so-ever, which was starting to become a worrying factor.

Okay, so, what is the best place for an incorrigible apple-hog of a death god in a banquet-come-dancehall such as this? The food zone! Light jerked his eyes towards the tables laden with various types of mouth-watering food in search of the Shinigami, and that's when he spotted him.

The unruly jet black hair, that usually looked he just recovered from a long hibernation-esque nap; currently appearing slightly more neat and brushed, that lean bony figure clad in immaculate black, shocking of all, standing ramrod straight as if on 'attention' ('Huh? Now his comprehensive and thinking ability doesn't decrease by 46%!' Light scoffed, 'The bastard.'), sporting a mask-like object that covered a good portion of his face, blue tinted glasses shadowed his otherwise bottomless brilliant black eyes.

Light blinked. Was this who he thought it was?

Light turned around, checking whether he'd seen correct. Light blinked again, he'd seen something he never thought would be possible…there in a bright corner beside the desert table, stood L, complete in a suit…and good posture? Light pinched himself, unable to believe his eyes.

Could this really be possibly L? What was L thinking being at a public place as this? While it was true that he heard that certain members of the Kira Investigation Team would be here (Matsuda, to guard Misa as well as because he is her manger, Mogi, who was probably in disguise somewhere as well, and possibly L) from Ryuuk, who had stumbled into the room when they were discussing such matters, by bribing him with apples, because they had found a possible lead regarding this party, also the reason why Light accepted Misa's proposal to come with her in the first place.

However, he didn't think that L would so blatantly expose himself to the public by standing in a place for the whole world to see. While it was true that Light most likely wouldn't have realized it was L if it weren't for the fact that he spent so much time chained to the man in close quarters and Ryuuk's vague descriptions of what L might wear helped, but still what made him think that just because he looked less like a homeless puppy and more resembled an eye-candy nobody would realize who he was?

Light stopped. Was he just thinking that L wasn't being paranoid enough? Was he seriously thinking more paranoid thoughts than the most paranoid panda-eyed freak he knew? Was L's persona rubbing on him that much? Next thing he would know is that his hair will also become an exact replica of L's. Light visibly shuddered at the thought. He didn't think he would survive the horror if his perfectly conditioned hair turned into the bird's nest that L called hair.

Seriously though, this was L he was talking about. L had most likely gone through all the risks and possible outcomes before appearing in public like this. There were hardly anyone who truly knew what L looked like and the man was wearing a disguise making it more impossible to recognize him. Also he obscured half of his face, no doubt because he knew Misa was here as well, Light realized with a scowl, so that she wouldn't be able to find out his name.

Anyway, the more important thing was the lead on the case that the Investigation team had regarding the party. It was obvious that it was important enough for L to be present in person, but what was it?…Unless they also thought that Elijah was involved with the case, possibly the London Kira…Unless…

Crash!

"What the hell! Gerroffme!" a fierce female voice roared and then…

Pain, burning, searing pain- jolted through Light's system, as he was hit in a place no males want to be hit on, momentarily blinding him, as he sprang up and began hopping around, clutching his privates.

"Oh my god! Light-kun? I'm so sorry! I took you to be some weirdo! Did I hit you too hard? Are you alright?" someone babbled nervously in one breath, and Light immediately recognized the shy but confident voice.

"Hiromi-san, it's ok! I'm alright," Light smiled weakly. But Hiromi didn't look convinced. She immediately pushed a button on her head-piece mini-mike in one quick motion before saying, "Hey, Wayne? Is Dr. Sanji free at the current moment?"

Light hurriedly put a hand on Hiromi's elbow to stop her, "Hiromi-san, there truly is no need for all that. See, I'm fine!" and stood up properly, brushing dirt of his pants, to assure her that he was indeed fine. Hiromi still looked doubtful but reluctantly agreed and said over the radio, "Wayne, no need. Its okay now," before looking back at Light, "Are you really sure you are ok?"

"I'm fine, really. But I must say, you have one mean kick," Light jested in a teasing manner, while helping Hiromi off the floor, and she blushed embarrassed, "However, I must say, seeing as our this encounter and the last haven't been under the, for the lack of better terms, best circumstances; it makes me quite wary about our next encounter." Hiromi, though still quite embarrassed, couldn't help but agree, letting out a small laugh.

Heavy music beats boomed through the speakers, followed by loud encores of **| one love, one love|**

"Looks like we've found our very first pair already!" the overenthusiastic sound of Black declared out loud. On cue, spotlights zeroed down on Light and Hiromi followed by cameras that immediately began transmitting their images to the huge flat-screen LCD.

It would appear that they had somehow fallen on the dance floor when Light crashed into Hiromi, thus automatically registering them as participants.

Suddenly growing conscious of all the eyes on her, Hiromi quickly patted down the wrinkles on her dress- an elegant peach-coloured evening gown, with several shimmering water-printed floral insignia that resembled her unique green emerald earrings embedded on metal that reminds one of the thorny vines curled into nosegay. All in all, her dress and accessories complemented her striking emerald-green eyes perfectly.

Light shrugged, uncaring. He really didn't mind since Hiromi was a far better replacement than Misa. At least he won't have to worry about the partner change now.

The songs volume rose higher **|Girl please excuse me…and I'm all alone|**

Light smirked lazily and extended his arm towards Hiromi, inviting her to dance. Hiromi looked unsure; she really didn't have any intention of dancing. Light send her a friendly encouraging smile, sensing her anxiety and reluctance, which seemed to have worked as Hiromi finally accepted his offered hand.

**|Your boyfriend's on vacation…Let me hear you go|**

Hiromi nervously gazed around at the, and both she and Light spotted a pair of dark nerdy glasses in front of a mop jet-black ponytail-ed hair, the same girl that Light had met during the opening announcement; her two hands morphed into two chibi 'thumbs-up' sign, encouraging Hiromi to dance.

"You!" Hiromi hissed as she pointed one accusing finger at the dark-haired green-eyed chibi girl, who pointed a finger at herself as if to innocently say 'Me nya?'. Hiromi continued, "You pushed Light-kun to fall, didn't you!" before spotting that the chibi girl had disappeared amidst the crowd, leaving a cloud of smoke in her wake.

Hiromi felt like cursing in frustration but was interrupted by the host's encouraging taunts, "What? Shy now Hiromi-chan? Wittle Hiwomi scwared? Oompf!" and Black was 'gracefully' silenced by Cole's ever friendly neighbourhood mike-stand.

Following their cue, the duo, Light and Hiromi, proceeded to the middle of the dance floor. Light in lead, they started to dance in a slow formal manner when a deafening heartbroken melodramatic wail of 'Light!' echoed throughout the room, courtesy of Misa, which fell on deaf years amidst all the music and humdrum chitchat, everyone except Matsuda. From the corner of his eyes, Light could see that Matsuda was barely retraining Misa who looked hell-bent on marching to the dance-floor to take 'her Light-kun' back at al costs.

"Well folks, our first two contestants are on the dance floor and dancing! Why don't you guys join already as well? Remember you won't have to change your partners after every song until the game begins," said the host.

**|Baby I like it…Like it|**

The camera zoomed down on the due skillfully and gracefully swaying and moving in beat with the rhythm, before zooming down on the other dancers who had by now joined in the dance floor.

Suddenly Hiromi's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward to Light so that her face was close to his ear; and Light heard another yell of his name from Misa. Matsuda had to re-double his efforts to keep Misa at bay.

"Light-kun, isn't that the same man whom we saw by the cafe the other day? You said you didn't know him…," Hiromi whispered to Light, subtly pointing in the direction of the person she was talking about, "So then maybe he's following us! I think we should alert the guards, or contact police…"

"Are you absolutely sure, Hiromi-san? It could just be a coincidence. Like you and I met up accidentally at both places. For all you know, I could be stalking you. And for all I know, you could be stalking me," Light said with a slight smirk before assuring Hiromi that he was merely joking.

"But still, Light-kun, it does seem suspicious…," Hiromi trailed off.

"I must say that I hardly believe a stalker would be invited or allowed to come to the crowning ceremony of a prestigious family such as the Draconions," and with that said the argument ended. Light stole fleeting glances at the partially curtain-clouded pillar where he'd previously spotted the man in question, who he suspected to be another of L's hounds. He twirled Hiromi around to get better view of the man- a heavily built man donning black suit-tie and black sunglasses. Even though he had outwardly assured Hiromi, Light knew without a doubt that this man was sent to trail him.

'It would seem that I have another Raye Pender on my tail. What games are you playing at Ryuzaki? You'd go as far as to risk revealing your identity, and still have you dogs loose?' Light thought, smirking darkly, 'The one to take the first step always wins- you said that yourself, L. I have taken the first step, and knowing you, you'll never back down from an open challenge. You even have to win against the young Phantomhive! No matter who or what, I'll never lose to anyone, be it L or Draconion. Let the games begin!'

* * *

Disclaimer:

Robin and Elliot: No matter how much/long/hard XD we weep or cry we DID NOT/DO NOT/WILL NOT ever own (T^T oh woe)-

1.) Death Note  
2.) Black Butler  
3.) The song 'I like it' by Enrique.

Robin: and 4.) this really cool pic of L with the cloth he is wearing in this chapter... imgres?q=ssfa+light+yagami&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=me9jtwiQrxFc2M:&imgrefurl= spots/light-yagami/images/9593769/title/ssfa-photo&docid=2Wy0hLYvxR4f2M&imgurl= . &w=400&h=532&ei=mzaiUKXaE4-zrAfxzYGIAQ&zoom=1

Elliot: What are you talking about? It's not really half a chapter! That having said, this is the longest flunk chapter *weeps over pained fingers*

Geeti: Yeah, but that's because you guys kept people waiting for this chapter for so long!

Light: Not my fault you hit writer's block *uncaring*

L: Burn...

Misa: Light!

Light: Eep! *bolts*

Ciel: Huh?

Sebastian: Master would you like something?

Matsuda: That was so random that it wasn't even funny -_-

Elliot and Robin: What the hell!

Mikami: And that's what happens if you don't review- total nonsense...and late updates! *cue evil grin*

Robin: Mikami-sama! *cue fan-girl chase*

Elliot: Oh no you don't young lady! *grabs Robin by collar* See, dear reviewers, that's what happens to her when you don't review. So review! Or else I'll send a crazy fan-girl after you! *cue evil diabolical laugh*


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